More people abroad like US — but growing number disagree in these countries, poll finds
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New findings from an 18-country public opinion poll taken since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 have revealed significant changes among international approval ratings for the U.S., NATO and Russia.
The Pew Research Center survey explored three areas of international public opinion: the U.S. and President Joe Biden, NATO — an alliance of 30 countries dedicated to ensuring the security of the Northern Atlantic region — and Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In recent years, the Pew Research Center reported finding consistent concerns internationally about the “health of American democracy” from advanced economies. The most recent opinion poll showed international attitudes toward the U.S. improving while confidence in Biden had “slipped” since 2021, potentially due to the handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Among international respondents, the U.S. had a median approval rating of 61%, the poll found. Since 2021, positive opinions have increased significantly in Australia (+7%), Sweden (+9%), and South Korea (+12%).
But in the same time period, the poll found positive opinions of the U.S. decreased significantly in France (-8%), Italy (-13%), and Greece (-15%). The report did not identify specific reasons for these decreases.
Still, “people in the countries surveyed tend to rate the U.S. political system poorly, despite generally positive views of the country overall,” the poll noted.
A median of 74% of those surveyed outside the U.S. said there were “strong or very strong conflicts” between political parties in the U.S., the poll found.
In surveying international opinions of NATO, the Pew Research Center reported surveying 11 member countries. Across these members, NATO’s ratings were “largely positive” with a median of 65% viewing the alliance favorably.
Greece emerged as the only member country in the survey to express a majority negative view about NATO — with nearly two-thirds viewing it unfavorably, the poll found.
Within the U.S., opinions of NATO remained more favorable among Democrats (78%) than Republicans (55%), but the poll found that partisan divides have narrowed since last year. In 2021, the gap between favorable views of NATO among Democrats (77%) and Republicans (44%) was 33 percentage points. In 2022, the gap has narrowed to 23 percentage points.
Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the surveyed nations already had a low approval rating of Russia. However, since the invasion, approval ratings have “plummeted further” to all-time lows, according to the poll. Confidence in Putin has also reached a 20-year, all-time low in most surveyed countries.
A median of 85% of those surveyed expressed an unfavorable opinion of Russia, according to Pew Research Center. Negative views of Russia were most intense in Poland and Sweden.
The survey did not include any questions directly related to measuring opinions of how Biden, the U.S., or NATO have responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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